Oh, the power of the media! Many have used it for good, but others, like Louis Carrier (Jean Yanne) realize its potential to generate fear and garner much attention. He is not a psychopath carrying out a lifelong scheme, but rather, Carrier is what you would call a victim of society. Living in poverty most of his life, he has been beaten down, always working the crappy jobs nobody wants, and frankly, almost nobody knows that he exists. But as luck would have it, his brother dies in a car crash, and Carrier is suddenly mildly rich as he is the beneficiary of his brother’s life insurance. Finally, now, he can and will make people notice him. Louis Carrier is no more. Rather, his alias, “Armageddon” takes over and is determined to instill fear and terror into the society that never seemed to care about him.
In its rather compact 93-minute runtime, director Alain Jessua’s Armaguedon covers…a lot. On the surface-level, the film rushes through its race-against-the-clock plot, counting down the days until the said doomsday. Carrier’s threats and attention-seeking, violent actions grow worse and worse. All the while, Dr. Michel Ambroise (Alain Delon) participates in a cat-and-mouse scenario with our unstable and dangerous protagonist as he seems to be the only hope to stop Carrier from carrying out his rather mysterious and convoluted plan.
Digging deeper into the characters, there are unmistakable similarities to Taxi Driver, at least where the character of Carrier is concerned. This film makes a great commentary on not only the power of the mass media, but awful power of loneliness. We see Yanne’s character succumb farther and farther to his mental illness. His years of poverty and loneliness have taken a huge toll on his mental health. He continually crosses lines…lines that his slow partner Albert, aka "Einstein" (Renato Salvatori) is constantly horrified by. But Carrier will do anything to be noticed. To be famous. Perhaps famous like Dr. Ambroise, who seems to have everything: the successful career, the fame, the money, the perfect family. You name it. But perhaps Carrier and the doctor are more alike than either of them truly realizes.
With these things in mind, Armaguedon is a film with a lot to say, which is both a good and bad trait. When you have a film with a ticking clock, it is hard for an audience to pull themselves out of that rushed tension. The big themes are obvious and make great commentary, but the more nuanced themes, like the comparisons and connections between Yanne and Delon, get a bit lost in the convoluted plot and fast pace. It is a film that needs at least a second viewing to properly digest everything that is quickly thrown at the audience. But luckily, courtesy of Kino Lorber, you can watch and rewatch Armaguedon as many times as you please with their brand-new Blu Ray release of this French crime thriller.
Home Video Distributor: Kino Lorber
Available on Blu-ray - April 5, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.67:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
International icon Alain Delon (Un Flic, The Sicilian Clan) must stop a madman from triggering Armageddon in this slick Eurocrime thriller. A repairman named Louis Carrier (Jean Yanne, We Won’t Grow Old Together) uses his newly inherited fortune to launch a campaign of terror that will make him a household name. Becoming more and more mentally unstable, Carrier threatens the police and various government institutions while operating under the alias “Armageddon.” A psychologist from Interpol (Delon) heads the investigation and prepares a trap at an international conference of world leaders in Paris. Renato Salvatori (Illustrious Corpses) and Michel Duchaussoy (The Killing Game) also star in this intense psychological game of cat-and-mouse from director Alain Jessua (Shock Treatment) that examines the potentially dangerous impact of mass media.
Video
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.67:1, this new 1080p transfer looks good. It is a clean and healthy print. There are a couple of frames that have slight stabilization issues, but it is only minor. Overall, a decent transfer that does the picture justice.
Audio
On this release, the extra features are very few, but the commentary included is an insightful and informative analysis.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
Special Features:
- Trailers
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 95 mins
Director: Alain Jessua
Writer: Alain Jessua; David Lippincott
Cast: Alain Delon; Jean Yanne; Renato Salvatori
Genre: Thriller | Crime
Tagline: A film by Alain Jessua
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor: AMLF
Official Site:
Release Date: March 16, 1977
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: April 5, 2022.
Synopsis: After years of poverty, Carrier (Yanne), a repairman, inherits a large sum of money upon his brother's death in an accident. Now rich, he decides it is time to make his mark and build a lasting reputation for himself. Becoming more and more mentally unstable, Carrier begins threatening the police and various government institutions while operating under the alias Armageddon. A detective (Delon) from Interpol heads the investigation and prepares a trap for the madman at an international conference of world leaders in Paris.